Wyndham Notebook: Webb Simpson will have a new caddie on his bag this week - his wife (2024)

GREENSBORO — Webb Simpson is changing up his mojo this week at the 85th Wyndham Championship by having his wife, Dowd, caddie for him.

Simpson, who will turn 39 on Thursday, says it’s the first time Dowd, who like Simpson is a Wake Forest graduate, will caddie for him in a PGA Tour tournament.

“I've always wanted to take her for a week, and I figured, you know, we're close to home, and she did a great job preparing this past week,” Simpson said. “She knows what's going on. I don't think I'll have to really tell her anything, so she’s excited.”

The Simpsons have a large family with five children, but Simpson said they will be at home in Charlotte this week.

A few years ago during a Masters, Simpson almost needed Dowd to caddie because of a back issue with Paul Tesori. Dowd caddied up until Thursday of that week.

“She was ready to go that day, but Paul was healthy enough to do it,” Simpson said.

Simpson hopes that having his wife on the bag might free him up to just play golf and not be too analytical about everything.

“So that was kind of the mentality behind having her come just to kind of recapture that pure love to the game that I've always had,” Simpson said.

As for Dowd’s rate, Simpson smiled: “We’re still negotiating that.”

There is a precedent of a husband-wife duo that won the tournament because in 2013, Patrick Reed and his wife, Justine, teamed up to win the Wyndham Championship. That year, Reed beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff.

Irwin Smallwood being honored

Irwin Smallwood, who died in March at the age of 98, is being honored this week with buttons that are being given out to the various media members when they check in.

Smallwood is aformer golf writerand editor at the Greensboro News & Record who was there at the Sedgefield Inn when the ACC was formed in 1953.

Media members check in at the Irwin Smallwood Media Center, and the buttons at the registration desk display Smallwood’s ever-present smile.

He also covered about 70 of the 84 PGA Tour stops in Greensboro during his long and outstanding newspaper career.

Folds of Honor Friday at Sedgefield

In partnership with Folds of Honor and the PGA Tour, the tournament will debut Folds of Honor on Friday.

The day will recognize the commitment and sacrifice of military service members and first responders who guard our freedoms and protect our communities.

It is an inspiring new experience for fans, players, caddies, sponsors, volunteers, and tournament staff to engage on-site through a shared connection

Because of the Wyndham Championship’s inclusion in Folds of Honor Friday, 13 central North Carolina students will receive academic scholarships on behalf of the tournament. Before the start of the second round, there will be a special ceremony near the Sedgefield clubhouse and Margaritaville.

The American flag will be raised, and Greensboro’s Douglas Willett will sing the national anthem at approximately 6:30 a.m.

Fans are encouraged to wear red, white and blue on Friday as a way to pay tribute to all who serve.

Jordan Spieth’s wrist is fine so far

Sitting and talking with the media on Tuesday, Jordan Speith said his lingering wrist injury is fine. He wasn’t in any pain, but sometimes when he plays, it crops up and it’s something he’s dealt with all season long.

“It's been a frustrating year because it's been maybe my best driving year ever,” he said. “And then the clubs that I make the most impact into the ground with, which normally are my bread and butter, have been pretty off. It's not hurting, but subconsciously it's hard not to look at the numbers and think this isn't a coincidence.”

He said doctors have told him he can’t hurt it any more by continuing to play.

“I've been taking trips out as well as being in contact with a lot of doctors, getting it scanned again and trying to figure out what the next move is,” he said. “I’m probably going to have to do something about it this off-season.”

Will Zalatoris feeling comfortable

It was a good day on Saturday for Will Zalatoris, who prepped for this week’s Wyndham by going to play at Old Town Club. He played there a lot during his four years at Wake Forest and met some former teammates and coaches for a casual round.

“I had (Coach Jerry Haas) look at my swing a little bit (on Sunday) and it was a good day to get out there and play Old Town again,” Zalatoris said.

Zalatoris also got to see Dan Walters, a former Wake Forest assistant coach.

“Old Town's the best,” Zalatoris said. “(Head pro) Charles Frost and Dunlop White have taken great care of us. The whole membership's been awesome to us or to the team.”

Zalatoris, 27, said he often thinks about those days as a care-free college golfer.

“Some of my best memories from Wake were when we'd go out and play at 4 p.m., play nine holes and head over to Putter's for dinner,” Zalatoris said. “It was just the best playing in the golden hour like that. Really, they treated us like members and there was really no time that we were ever not able to play, including Mondays.”

Short putts….

Since the inception of the FedEx Cup in 2007, the Wyndham Championship has played host to the regular-season finale. Only the top 70 in the points after Sunday will advance to the playoffs with the first one in Memphis next week …

There are 21 of the 60 golfers who competed in last week’s Olympics in the field, including six who enter the week between Nos. 61 and 90 in the FedEx Cup standings: Min Woo Lee/No. 61, Emiliano Grillo/No. 67, Victor Perez/No. 70, Nicolai Højgaard/No. 79, Kevin Yu/No. 86 and C.T. Pan/No. 88 …

The Wyndham Championship winner will receive 500 FedEx Cup points, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and $1.4 million. The winner will also be exempt for The Sentry, THE PLAYERS Championship, The Masters and the PGA Championship in 2025 …

The field of 156 golfers includes eight of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings, led by No. 9 Sungjae Im and No. 10 Shane Lowry as well as 21 of the top 50 in the rankings, led by No. 15 Brian Harman, No. 16 Robert MacIntyre and No. 20 Sungjae Im …

Nine past champions are in the field including Lucas Glover (2023), Kevin Kisner (2021), Jim Herman (2020), J.T. Poston (2019), Brandt Snedeker (2007, 2018), Si Woo Kim (2016), Camilo Villegas (2014), Webb Simpson (2011) and Ryan Moore (2009).